I Heard You
by W5Lex
Summary: SPOILERS FOR SEASON 5 FINALE! Continuation of that final scene...
1. Chapter 1

**I Heard You**

**A/N: SPOILERS FOR SERIES 5 FINALE! Okay, now we got that over with… I'm pretty sure I'm going to be uploading the whole of this fic today. But we're starting with one chapter. Btw, I'm just gonna tell you now, that Matt ain't gonna die in this, I don't think I could handle that. So here ya go…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own LOUK, blah blah blah. If I did, then Jamie Bamber wouldn't have ended up on the floor with a fucking bullet through his chest!**

"Matt!" Alesha called out his name, but it was lost in all the noise of the moment. She could already see people frantically making 999 calls, so she ran to him, kneeling on the ground opposite Ronnie. The tears were already falling, and the pain washed through her like a poisonous venom.

She looked straight at Ron, and she could see the horror on her own face reflected in his. Her eyes were drawn back to Matt, and she surveyed his injuries. The two shots to his chest were already releasing blood at an alarming rate, and the red running from his mouth gave him a look of helplessness that she'd never see in him. Until now.

Alesha thought back to the first aid training she'd briefly received as a kid, and the countless times she'd seen this sort of thing on TV, and finally, did something that might actually help. Ronnie was still looking at her, "Pressure Ron. Put pressure on the wounds." The older detective pressed his hands to the furthest bullet wound, and she did the same on the other.

Matt was past the point of pain. All he could feel was a numb tingling, and the overwhelming force pulling him towards the darkness. His eyes shut for only a couple of seconds before _her _voice pulled him back. He stared at her, clinging onto the sound with all he had.

She made unwavering eye contact with him, determined not to let him go, not without a fight. "Matt Devlin! Don't you dare fucking die." He tried to smile, but nothing surfaced, and his eyes drifted shut again.

The tears on her face were now falling freely onto the jacket that covered him, and she looked down at her hands for a moment. "Matt!" She called his name again, and his eyes shot open for only a second – just long enough for Alesha to communicate what she had been aching to say for months, maybe even years. "Matt, I love you." Ronnie's eyes snapped up at the startling admission, and then they slowly moved away as he realised; he had known it all along. They'd been in love with each other since day one, and the only ones not to have seen it, were the hopeless pair themselves. And with that last sentence, Matt's eyes fell shut, and the sirens emerged in the distance.

She wished he hadn't done it, she wished he'd let the kid take the bullet. That was what she told herself, but Alesha knew that it wasn't true. Matt wouldn't have been Matt if he'd put his life above Kaden's, she just hoped it wouldn't cost him his life.

**A/N: Pleeeeaassse let me know what you think : )**


	2. Chapter 2

She couldn't say how much longer she was there, the dark trickles of blood seeping through her fingers, but eventually, she was pushed aside. The paramedics moved quickly, their hands manoeuvring expertly as they worked on him. Unable to draw her eyes away, she continued to watch as they pulled his shirt out of the way, revealing the full extent of the gruesome injuries. She wiped away the tears, but it did nothing to help; they were continually being replaced by fresh ones. After years of seeing Matt's beautifully animated face, the blank one before her was heartbreaking.

Alesha watched as they loaded his unmoving body into the back of the ambulance, and turned to see if they were taking a passenger. Ronnie pushed her forwards, "Go on Lesh. You're the person he'll wanna see when he wakes up." Alesha envied his optimism as she climbed in, sitting beside his limp body, and resting her hand on one of his own as the ambulance sped in the direction of the hospital.

Stunned from what had happened, and devastated at the outcome, Alesha stayed silent for the journey. One of the medics was still working, and so she figured he'd be best left alone. She steadied herself against the wall of the vehicle, the rocky motion making her feel ill; as if the sight of Matt like this wasn't enough. The tears hadn't stopped, and it wasn't until they reached the hospital that she was torn from the man she loved.

She hung her head, looking at the ground between her feet as she was pushed towards the relatives' room. She was alone, and the unnaturally bright and happy environment around her was making her queasy. The rainbows were doing nothing to calm her nerves. It was another ten minutes before Ronnie arrived, and again, she could see every emotion she was feeling flowing through his face at the same time. Poor Ronnie, the birth of a grandson and the death of a surrogate son on the same day. Maybe, just maybe, she was being pessimistic; she hoped so.

Alesha rushed forwards into his arms, letting her tears dampen the familiar jacket. Ronnie didn't ask how Matt was; it didn't take much to gather that he hadn't woken up on the journey over, that he may never wake up at all.

He pulled back to look at her. "Alesha," he said though the tears. "Lesh darling, go home and get changed. Then you can come back and stay." She shook her head. "Lesh, listen to me. Would you rather go now, or when they think he may be about to wake up." There was the optimism again, but she knew he was right.

"If you hear anything, _anything" _she warned, "call me." He nodded solemnly praying to God that he wouldn't have to call with bad news. He wiped the tears from his face as Alesha ran out of the room, and slumped into a chair in the corner. He laughed – though completely unamused – at the irony (though he was pretty sure that wasn't sure that wasn't the right word for it), he was supposed to be visiting this very same hospital with Matt this afternoon anyway, for the birth of his grandson. Oh, how things had changed.


	3. Chapter 3

The doctor left the room and Ronnie sat back down, pulling out his phone to ring Alesha. At that moment, she ran through the door, providing a grateful Ronnie with a distraction from the calm of the empty room. She'd been gone less than three quarters of an hour, though her hair was damp from a shower and she was wearing a new set of clothes.

The tears were unmoved though, still streaming. "What? I saw the doctor leaving, what did he say Ron?" She had paused by the door, as though scared to come too close, afraid of the news she was about to receive.

Ronnie looked up at her with misery. "He's going up to surgery. But they said-" he swallowed loudly, "They said he might not make it."

They both looked up to the muted television as a picture of Matt's face appeared on the screen, then away as the station began to show clips of the moment it had happened. Ronnie's hand shot to the remote and turned it off. Alesha walked forwards slowly, sinking into the sofa next to him, sitting close enough to touch.

Ronnie reached over to take her cold hand in his, and he felt the weight of her head as she leant onto his shoulder. He clapped his other hand on top and waited for the others to arrive. And arrive they did, another ten minutes later.

A distraught Natalie looked much the same as Alesha and himself. She'd cried, asked Ronnie if there was anything he would need, and then cried some more. Jacob followed closely behind, understandably looking less upset. After all, they'd only worked together on what, six cases? And they didn't seem to spend nearly as much time with the new Senior Crown Prosecutor as they had with James. Jake left after an hour – with an appropriate look of sorrow - after hearing an assurance that they would call if they heard anything. Natalie stayed for five, and upon hearing that it could be a while before the doctors knew anything else, she too left.

And then there were two. Again. Not a single relative had turned up, despite the presence on the news. Though Ronnie couldn't help but think maybe it was for the best. He knew that things changed in situations like these, but he hadn't heard a kind word about a single one of them in the time he'd known the detective.


	4. Chapter 4

Eight hours after they'd first arrived, the door slowly swung open. Alesha and Ronnie both jolted out of their slumber at the sound, springing to their feet as the doctor entered the room. They looked at him, wide-eyed and impatient.

"Mr. Devlin," he started, his voice conveying not even a thousandth of the emotion that was running through the two before him, "has come out of surgery." They both switched off for the long-winded medical explanation, listening to the jargon despite not understanding a single word. Alesha picked up the word heart a few times, and not much else. Why was it that the doctors never told you what you wanted to now until the very end? "Ultimately, it's a waiting game. He's sedated at the moment. But we'll ease him off it in the next couple of days, and hopefully he'll wake up. You can both sit with him for as long as you'd like." They thanked him and he left.

Ronnie took hold of Alesha's hand again, and they walked to the room labelled with _Matt Devlin_, and surveyed his condition again. His body was still lifeless and limp, his face was still unnervingly blank, and his hair was still ruffled and bloody, presumably from blood transferred from his wounds. For some reason, the hair bothered Alesha more than it should, but once again, it was the absence of expression that made him look unfamiliar and horrifyingly…well, _dead._

They could both feel the tears coming again, and both let them come. They stepped forward in synchronisation, letting go of each other's hands to swap them for one of Matt's. It was over two hours before either of them said anything, and before either of them moved.

"Alesha love. I'm so sorry, but I'm going to have to go. I need to change, and then I'm going to go and visit my daughter and the new arrival, and then I'll be straight back." He might have insisted on staying, but the doctor had said not to expect anything for a couple of days and so he left without another word or glance from Alesha.

She brought one of her legs up on the seat and leant back, ensuring that there was not a single thing obstructing her view of him. Her eyes never left his motionless form until finally, the sleep took her.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Four days later…**_

Matt let his eyes open slowly, adjusting to the little amount of light in the room. His chest hurt, and his throat was dry, but there was no explanation for the weight on his leg.

He gave himself another minute to adjust, then tested his neck. It was stiff, but okay, and so he looked down for the source of the tingling in his thigh. Alesha sat on the chair next to his bed, still in the same clothes from fours days before. The rail on the side of the bed had been lowered, and her whole body was leant forwards so that her head rested on Matt's body. He smiled ever so slightly, watched her for a minute, and gave her a light nudge.

Her head snapped up, and she looked all around the room, until finally he eyes settled on Matt. The fact that he was the last place she looked for movement said something about those past few days.

Her eyes lit up, the blood flowed to her face, and her features rearranged themselves into the largest smile he'd ever seen grace her face. "Matt! Matt, you're awake."

He smiled at her fondly. "Yeah, yeah I know." He stated the obvious as he struggled to remember exactly what had happened after he'd left the court. He remembered only one thing after that. But he postponed the question, noticing her eyes darting around his body for a safe place to hug. He mustered up the energy to lift an arm, offering his hand. She gladly took it in both of her own, and he was grateful when she supported it's full weight. "What happened?"

The nurse had warned Alesha with the possibility of temporary memory loss, but it surprised her all the same. The idea that someone could get shot, be on the verge of death, and then live only to forget it was strange to her.

As she cast her mind back, tears filled her eyes again. He gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. "You took a bullet for Kaden…well two actually." He'd heard enough. Matt couldn't bear to see her in such pain, so he changed the subject.

"Where's Ronnie?"

"He should be here any minute."


	6. Chapter 6

"Matty son, how you feelin'?"

Ronnie walked into the room, hands in pockets, still looking devastated, but a small smile on his face having seen his partner up in bed. No sign of Alesha, she must have gone for coffee.

All manly exterior pushed aside, he took Matt's hand in one of his own without hesitation. He would have gone for a hug or something, but for all the wires and tubes sticking out of him, he'd have had no idea where to start.

Matt frowned at the gesture, but took it. "Not great."

Ronnie laughed dryly, and Matt returned a smile. It felt good to have Ron around again. Much as it pained him to say it, Ronnie was his best friend. As well as Alesha.

"Where's Lesh?"

"Coffee," he confirmed.

Ronnie nodded and released his hand. He leaned back in his seat, "You know she hasn't left."

He stared at him for a moment before responding. "But she said I'd been out for four days." _Surely she didn't stay that long_, he thought.

Ron just nodded. "She asked the hospital whether she could stay. They let her, though she reckons it was only 'cause you're a cop."

Matt stared in thought, and neither of them said another word until the silence was broken by the squeak of the door. A nurse walked in, looking as though she was worried she'd interrupted a moment. "Can I get you anything?" She asked.

Ronnie looked to his partner. "Matt, memory like a sieve. Remind me again what comes after S in the alphabet."

Matt smiled and cocked his head to the side before answering. "T."

"Tea would be great," he said as he turned to the nurse. She left with an expression that said tea wasn't in her job description, though she said nothing. They _were_ police after all.

"Same joke twice in less than a week?" He asked grinning.

"Well _she _hadn't heard it, had she?" Matt shook his head at the lame excuse. "So, you're a granddad. How's the baby?"

"Beautiful." He smiled widely and leaned forward in his seat.


	7. Chapter 7

The question had been presenting itself at every free moment in her mind. _Did he hear me? _Alesha thought back to the exact moment she'd said it, four days ago.

"Matt, I love you." Those were her words. His eyes had been open when she'd said it, and she was sure he had still been conscious. But even if he had heard it, what's to say he remembered it? He hadn't remembered the shots. She watched him as he slept peacefully, so dosed up on meds that if she stood up and started dancing the Macarena, he probably wouldn't have noticed. The rise and fall of his bandaged chest calmed her, and she found herself deliberately altering her own breathing pattern so that it was in time with his as he slept. Or at least she had thought he was asleep. Apparently not. _Apparently, _the deep breaths were indicators of his still-heavy medication and relaxed state.

His eyes stayed closed, and that familiar light smile settled on his features. She could tell he was going to be okay, that smile said it all, and it was certainly enough to put _her _at ease. "What?" He asked.

She averted her gaze, but it was too late, so she acted dumb. "What?" She copied his words.

"You've been staring at me for over ten minutes. I can feel it." He laughed through the words, whilst trying to suppress it, he could feel it pulling at the stitches. His eyes opened, and for the first time since the shots had been fired, his eyes lit up. The bright blue orbs looked straight back at her, and she almost lost track of the conversation.

Alesha looked down at her hands, then back to his face, desperately searching for a way to broach the subject. She shifted in her seat. "Matt," she took his hand and he gave it a squeeze. "Matt, what else do you remember? From when you were shot I mean." He looked down at their hands with a smile; he was beginning to appreciate the 'wounded in bed thing.' It seemed _everyone _wanted to hold his hands.

He looked at her blankly and she sighed at the oh-so-cute look on his face. "Nothing." He looked at her to go on.

"I told you…" She swallowed before continuing. "I told you that I loved you." He waited patiently, she'd said _loved. _"And, I meant it. Well, I _mean _it. I love you Matt."

Matt wanted to smile, but he fought to keep his poker face in place. "C'mere."

She looked at him suspiciously and he repeated the words. "Lesh, come here. I wanna tell you something too."

Unsure of what to expect, and with a faint smile on her face, Alesha pushed herself out of the chair, taking one small step to place her next to the bed. He closed his eyes in pain as he lifted his arm, using one finger to beckon her, "Closer." She leant down slightly, leaving about half a metre between the faces. For the last time, he beckoned again, and said, "Still not close enough."

She leant in even more, bringing their faces to within ten centimetres of each other. Still not close enough, but he could work with that. He let out a tired sigh as he used one arm to push himself up in the bed, and pressed his lips to hers.

They met with the softest of kisses, but they lingered for a few seconds before finally pulling away. She might have tried to hold onto him, but with nowhere to put her hands, she reluctantly let him go, staring at him in shock as his eyes opened slowly. Alesha spoke with a small smile, "I thought you had somethin' to tell me."

He cleared his throat. "Oh, yeah. Um, I heard you." He waited for the inevitable.

"Heard what?"

"When I was shot. I heard you," he admitted sheepishly. It truly was the only thing he had remembered from the madness.

Alesha's eyes searched for somewhere to slap him. She settled for his hand, though the smile on her face gave her away. "Ow," he said cringing away from the contact.

"Matt Devlin. You lied to me!" She was still smiling, almost laughing.

"I wasn't- I wanted to make sure that you meant it. That you hadn't just said is 'cause I was dying." She felt a twinge at that last word. "And, I wanted to hear you say it again." He looked – and felt guilty – as he lowered his gaze to his hands. The smile resurfacing, he took one of her hands in his, and looked up at her. His face was so innocent, so sincere, so gorgeous, as he said the words. "I love you too."

Alesha couldn't help the grin that spread, so she let it come, leaning down again to push her lips to his. Her hand moved up to the back of his neck, playing in his hair as the kiss lengthened, and lengthened, and lengthened. They were locked in a kiss so gentle, yet so full of passion. It somehow managed to convey all of the feelings they's accumulated over the years, and Matt couldn't help but smile slightly underneath her. They both smiled as they broke apart, and Matt chanced a glance at the heart monitor standing by his bed. "See what you do to me," he said, nodding at the screen.

She turned to look, and let out the first genuine laugh that had escaped her lips since the day of the trial. The jagged line on the monitor showed a spike in his heart rate.

Matt's face straightened out, and by the time Alesha had turned back to him, the expression worried her. Before she could ask, Matt voiced his thoughts. "Hey Lesh. Move in with me." Only after saying the words did his gaze return to hers, gauging her reaction.

Her eyes widened, though a small smile played at the corners of her mouth. "And what if we break up?"

He looked at her as though she was an idiot. "Do _you _think we're gonna break up? Alesha," he squeezed her hand, "I've been in love with you for…years. And I can't remember one single point throughout the time I've known you, that that love has wavered, _or_ a time when I've been even a little mad at you."

Her smiled grew at the admission. He was right, except for one thing. "That's not true. What about on the Stephanie Blake case?"

His face grew serious at the thought of the case when he had been discredited, but he hadn't lied. He shook his head, "I wasn't mad at you. I _was _mad at James. I knew that if you'd had any idea what he was gonna do, you'd have stopped it."

She nodded, it was true. And the same was true for her. She loved him more than she'd ever loved anybody. She loved his protective instinct (even if it got him into trouble), she loved his sense of humour, she loved everything about his personality, she loved that he was a police officer. And past the point of denial, she loved his face – his jaw, his eyes, his nose, his dimples – and his body. Most of all though, she loved that Matt Devlin loved _her. _

So, in response, she gave a nod.

**A/N: Hellooo, thanks to everyone who had read so far and added this to the alert list. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to have time to finish the one remaining chapter tonight, so I'll be uploading it early tomorrow morning. I hope everyone's enjoying so far, here's the start:**

**_1 month later…_**

Matt woke five minutes before the alarm was due to sound. He smiled as his eyes opened, having gotten used to the living arrangements. Looking down slowly, his eyes settled on the sleeping form of Alesha Philips. She lay facing him, her arms curled around his torso, with his under her head and around her back, holding her to him.

He lay entirely still and silent for their last few minutes in bed, watching her and listening to the gentle sound of her peaceful breaths. The alarm rang, and he turned it off before it got loud enough to wake her. As softly as he could manage, Matt nudged Alesha awake, and her arm tightened around him, before her eyes finally opened.


	8. Chapter 8

_**1 month later…**_

Matt woke five minutes before the alarm was due to sound. He smiled as his eyes opened, having gotten used to the living arrangements. Looking down slowly, his eyes settled on the sleeping form of Alesha Philips. She lay facing him, her arm curled around his torso, with his under her head and around her back, holding her to him.

He lay entirely still and silent for their last few minutes in bed, watching her and listening to the gentle sound of her peaceful breaths. The alarm rang, and he turned it off before it got loud enough to wake her. As softly as he could manage, Matt nudged Alesha awake, and her arm tightened around him, before her eyes finally opened.

Their gazes met and both broke into a light smile, meeting for a kiss before stretching and pushing themselves out of bed.

"You know you don't need to go in today if you don't want to. Natalie said to take as long as you need," said Alesha as they cleared up breakfast.

Matt shook his head as he walked over to Alesha's turned back, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck. "Lesh, don't worry about me. I'll be on desk duty until the wound's healed anyway. Ron won't let me near a case for weeks yet."

She smiled as she turned around to curl her own arms around him, her head leaning on his chest above the wounds. They stood there for another half a minute before she pulled herself away. "Take your shirt off then, I'll re-dress it." It was something that Matt was more than capable of doing himself now, but Alesha had continued with the routine of changing the dressing every morning since she'd moved in.

She watched him as he pulled the t-shirt over his head, standing up straight as Alesha retrieved one of the dressing packs on the counter. She caught her breath as she turned back around; the fact that Matt still looked like that after a month of very little exercise must have said something about his level of fitness _before _the shooting; he looked _good._

She examined the wound for a minute, dampening a tissue and wiping the area around the two – now very small – wounds. Then carefully, she unwrapped the padded dressing and held it to his chest, securing it with the adhesive tape provided.

When she was done, Matt leaned down to peck her once, then took the rubbish with him as he passed the bin on the way back to the bedroom to get changed.

With the walk relatively short, and Matt being keen to get some fresh air before being couped up in the office for most of the day, the couple chose to walk to work. They strode down the street, hand-in-hand, both smiling as they shared jokes and old memories. Never had either grown tired of a conversation with the other, and never did they feel they would.

As they approached the police station, they were greeted by a wrapped up Ronnie. He explained his presence without being prompted. "Thought I should warn you, most the station is in there waiting for you to arrive."

Matt let out a groan, giving Ronnie a chance to glance down at their hands with a smile. Neither had kept the relationship from him, but it pleased him to see them together and happy all the same. "Okay, I'll catch you up," said Matt.

Ronnie nodded knowingly and entered the building only to wait inside the door for his partner.

Matt turned back to Alesha, and the grin instantaneously reappeared. He leant down for a tender kiss, reluctantly releasing her hand as he pulled away. "I'll see you for lunch?" she asked.

Matt nodded. "Yeah, course. Though I can't promise I'll be able to get rid of Ron." They both laughed, knowing of course that their lunch break would only be all the more enjoyable for it.

"I'll see ya later then." Alesha turned away, walking in the direction of the CPS.

"I love you," he called to her back.

She turned one last time, "Love you too," and then continued on her way to work, with a smile fixed on her features for the rest of the journey.

**A/N: THE END. : ) I know just from looking at my alert notifications that a lot of you have read this, so please leave a review, let me know what you think. Thanks for reading : ) **


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